Dedicated students, distinguished colleagues and dear friends,

Happy Friday!

Diversity is a fact of life! Inclusion? A matter of mind. A matter of choice. Diversity and active inclusion are hallmarks of innovative organizations, and diversity without inclusion is simply an unrealized potential. The most innovative organizations showcase their encouraging results of moving from diversification to inclusion, from composition to conduct, and from recognition to actualization.

Universities have also welcomed diverse populations including international students. Since our founding in 1870, S&T has employed diverse faculty and staff, enrolled students from around the world and purposefully pursued diversity. We have established perspective-enhancing programs for our students to experience the world. Our study abroad and Global Engineering programs have provided unique learning opportunities, and many S&T students return and share their life-changing experiences.

Here on campus, we celebrate our diversity with inclusivity programs to engage more effectively and to develop a healthy sense of belonging and connectedness to others. Our open-to-all student organizations provide opportunities to network, study, learn and relax. Groups can be created for any interest, and our students have created clubs for birding, ballet and dance, culture, and more. Women in Physics and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers are two examples of many academic and career groups, and our Student Veterans Association, campus ministries groups, Constitution Day and American history events, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Bangladeshi Student Association are examples that highlight the diversity of welcomed interests on campus. On a regular basis, the Curtis Laws Library also sponsors cultural, artistic and literary exhibits and events.

Our renowned annual Celebration of Nations, which happens this Saturday, brings the world to our community to broaden our horizons and allow us to learn more about other cultures. It is our passport to the world without ever leaving town. Every year, visitors look forward to the Parade of Nations and the vendors who serve food from all over the world, including Ghana, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, India, Taiwan and China, and dozens of other countries.

To our campus community, alumni and friends, I say that, regardless of pending changes in our DEI organizational structure, we are committed to our diversity and inclusion programs. We will continue to foster a culture of belonging, creativity and respect, and we will continue to seek ways to align with changing DEI-related legislation and regulations to safeguard our diversity and inclusion commitments. Our functions such as Equity and Title IX, Strategic Diversity Initiatives, and Outreach and Events will remain intact, although they will move to new supervisory organizations.

In short, we will continue to embrace diversity and inclusion as our pathway to learning, rather than an impediment to growth. After all, we can only fulfill our mission by remaining a destination of choice for the widest range of diverse and talented students, faculty and staff who collectively reflect our commitment to diversity.

We recognize that, to benefit from our competitive advantage, we must become innovative. And to become innovative, we must encourage divergent thoughts, and for that, we need to become inclusive of our diverse human resources. And that is simply a fact of life and leadership!

Warmly,

-Mo.

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Mohammad Dehghani, PhD
Chancellor
mo@mst.edu | 573-341-4116

206 Parker Hall, 300 West 13th Street, Rolla, MO 65409-0910
chancellor.mst.edu